Tools for banding packages,parcels or the like

ABSTRACT

D R A W I N G A TOOL FOR SECURING TOGETHER BY MEANS OF A SEAL THE ENDS OF A FLEXIBLE BAND PUT AROUND A PACKAGE MAKES USE OF THE MOVEMENT OF THE SEALING HEAD AWAY FROM THE BASE OF THE TOOL NECESSARY TO DISENGAGE THE SEALING HEAD FROM THE CLOSED SEAL TO RELEASE TENSION IN THE PART OF THE BAND BETWEEN THE SEAL AND THE BAND SUPPLY AND THEN TO SEVER THE BAND. TO AVOID FIBRILLATION, TENSION IS RELEASED BEFORE SEVERING BY ARRANGING THE CUTTER TO BE MOVED BY A PART OF A PAWL OFTER THE PAWL HAS BEEN DISENGAGED FROM A RATCHET MAINTAINING TENSION.

March 23, 1971 R, D, SANSUM O I 3,572,398

' TOOLS FOR BANDING PAOKAQES, PARCELS OR THE LIKE med May 9, 196s .ssheets-sheet 1 Much 23, 1911 l .SANs-UM k3,572,398

TOOLS FORBANDING PACKAGES, PARCELS 0R THE-LIKE mad may 9, 1969 ssheets-sheet a Mud. 2'3, 1911 R. n. SANSUM TooLs'FoR BANDING PACKAGES,PARcELs 0R THE LIKE man my 9, 196s '1 6 sheets-sheet s March 23,1971.RQMANSUM 3,572,399

VTOOLS FOR BANDING PACKAGES, PARCELS OR"THE LIKE Fneduay 9i., 1969esmas-sheet 4.

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Mmh 23, 1911 RMANSUM 3,512,398

TOOLS FOR 4BANDZIINC'T PACKAGES, PARCELS OR THE LIKE med may 9, A1969s'sheets-sneet s SL i.,

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"TOOLS FOR BANDING PACKAGES. PARCELS OR-THE LIKE Filed May 9', 1969 6Sheets-Sheet 6 i u 12- 0 if 12 i 15'* FIG 10 e7 C -T- United StatesPatent 3,572,398 TOOLS FOR BANDING PACKAGES, PARCELS oR THE LIKE RobertD. Sansum, Harpenden, England, assgnor t Gerrard Industries Limited,London, England Filed May 9, 1969, Ser. No. 823,294 Int. Cl. B211? 9/02U.S. CL 140-93.4 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A tool forsecuring together by means of a seal the ends of a exible band putaround a package makes use of the movement of the sealing head away fromthe base of the tool necessary to disengage the sealing head from theclosed seal to release Itension in the part of the band between the sealand the band supply and then to sever the band. To avoid brillation,tension is released before severing by arranging the cutter to be movedby a part of a pawl after the pawl has been disengaged from a ratchetmaintaining tension.

This invention relates to tool for banding packages, parcels or the likeand s particularly, although not exclusively, for use with banding ofthe non-metallic type.

Banding tools are known which comprise a base portion providing asealing station at which overlapping portions of a length of bandinglooped around a package can be joined together by a seal applied bymeans of a sealing device having jaws movable into and out of a sealingposition at the jointing station, the tools including means for holdingthe free end of the band and means for tensioning after the band hasbeen looped around the package, and a cutting device adapted to cut theupper of the overlapping bands and so free the banded package from thesupply source. It is also known to use such tools with banding tape ofthe non-metallic type, and to release the tension in the banding priorto severing in order that splitting or fibrillation of the cut ends doesnot occur.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a banding tool ofthe kind set forth which includes several improved features and inparticular a mechanism which provides more eicient operation of thesealing mechanism than prior devices.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a tool which makesbetter use of the essential operative movements during the banding andsevering operation.

The present invention consists in a tool for banding packages, parcelsor the like comprising in combination a base, a sealing station on thebase anddisposed intermediate the ends thereof, sealing means mounted onthe base adjacent to the sealing station and hingeable away from thebase, 'gripper means mounted on the base to one side of the sealingstation .to grip the free end of a band from a supply, tensioning meansmounted on the base on the other side of the sealing station to tensionthe band after it has been passed around a package or the like such thatthere is an overlapping part adjacent to the sealing station, tensionrelease means to release the tension in the strap after sealing, andsevering means to sever the band from the supply, the tension releasemeans and the severing means being actuated in succession by movement ofthe sealing means as it is hinged away from the base, after completionof the operation of the sealing means.

Normally the tool would be used with banding made from a plasticmaterial such as nylon or polypropylene but banding of light gauge steelcould be used. It is intended that the tool should be portable in asmuch that in use it could be put by hand into position on the pack-3,572,398 Patented Mar. 23, 1971 rice age, however, a larger tool ormachine which is stationary on its site of use is not beyond the scopeof the invention.

The gripper means is preferably provided with a self locking devicewhich enables the free end of the banding material to be trapped as themateral is tensioned around the package and which is biased to the openposition to enable the end of the band to be released automatically fromthe gripper when the tool is removed from the package.

The tensioning means to tension the banding material around .the packagemay include a capstan carried by an axle journalled in the base `andcomprising at least one axially-directed open-ended slot which extendsinthe axial direction of the axle for approximately the width of thebanding material.

The banding material having been passed around the package is insertedinto one of the slots in which spring means are preferably provided tohold the banding material prior to being tensioned by rotation of thecapstan.

It is also preferable that the means to tension the banding incorporatesa pawl and ratchet device which is lspring loaded so that when apredetermined tension of `the banding material is reached the pawl willoverride the ratchet.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of examplewith reference to the accompanying ,drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a tool according to an embodiment of theinvention,

FIG. 2 is an end view of the tool shown in FIG. l.

FIG. 3 is a similar side view to that shown in FIG. 1 but with thesealing head raised,

FIG. 4 is a side view from the side opposite to that shown in FIG. 1 andin a different stage of operation,

FIG. 5 is a sectional elevation on the line 5-5 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 6 is a detailed view of the tensioning mechanism from one side,

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross section on the line 7--7 of FIG. 4,

FIG. 8 is a vertical longitudinal section through part of the devicehousing the sealing mechanism,

FIG. 9 shows the overlapping ends of the bandin'g after sealing andsevering,

FIG. l() is a plan view of that part of the tool housing the gripper,

FIG. 1l shows a section on the line 11-11 of FIG. 10, and

FIG. 12 is a section on the line 12-12 of FIG. l0 and showing a bandingtape pulled taut in the gripper.

The tool is of the type which incorporates mechanism to apply a seal tooverlapping portions of the band and comprises the following majorcomponents which are best seen in FIGS. 3 and 6i; a base 10 providedwith a xed handle 11, a band tensioning mechanism 12, a gripping device14 and a sealing head 13 which is hingeable away from the base. Thesecomponents will all be described in detail hereinafter as will theirfull operation, but in brief the arrangement of the components of thetool is such that the free end of the band can be inserted into thegripping device 14 where it is trapped as the band is pulled around thepackage. 'Ihe supply end of the band is then inserted into tensioningmechanism 12 after tensioning the sealing head 13 is hinged to meet thebase and a seal is applied to join the band. When the sealing head 13 ishinged away from the base it causes the actuation of mechanism which rstreleases the tension in the band and then severs it from the supply.

The gripping device 14 (FIGS. 10, 11 and 12) is positioned on the base10 adjacent to the end remote from the handle and comprises a spindle 15disposed transversely of the base Within a bore 16 straddling a slot 17machined in the base member substantially midway between its sides. Theslot 17 extends to a width consistent with the width of the band 19(FIG. 12) and is undercut at its inner end so that it opens into achannel portion 20 in the base. The channel 20 is parallel to thespindle 15 and extends to one side of the base 10. The slot 17 is alsotapered from the top face of the base to the bottom end face as shown inFIG. 12.

That part of the spindle which is within the slot 17 is cut away toprovide a flat face 18 at a position approximating its diameter and thedimensions are such that in one position of rotationthe at 18 can bealigned with the channel portion 20. A spring 21 biases the spindle 15towards the open position as shown in FIG. ll.

Conveniently, that part of the base 10 housing the gripping device 14 ismade in two parts by machining away one corner of the base 10 to therequired depth and providing a capping portion 22 (FIGS. 10 and 12).

Extending from the innermost part of the handle 11 are two spaced andparallel side members 23 which form the mounting for the band tensioningmechanism 12. The mechanism 12 includes a capstan 25 carried by an axle24 journalled in the sidemembers 23. The capstan 25 is formed with fourequally angularly spaced, open ended slots 26 extending parallel to theaxis of the axle 24 and chordwise to the periphery of the capstan 25(FIGS. 1 and 5). The capstan 25 is positioned on the axle 24 so that itis on the outside of one of the sidemembers 23 and is in line with thegripping device 14. The depth of the slots corresponds to the width ofthe band 19. Leaf springs 27 are secured to the end of the central partof the capstan 25 and have free portions which extend obliquely acrossthe slots 27 and are urged towards the outer sides of the slots, thearrangement being such that when the band 19 is passed through any oneof the four slots 26 it can be held by a spring 27 against the side ofthe slot and retained in the capstan 25 prior to the tensioningoperation. The opposite end of the axle 24 extends outside the other ofthe two sidemembers 23 and carries the capstan drive mechanismcomprising a ratchet wheel 29, a drive pawl 30, of a drive pawl andratchet device 28 and a tubular tensioning lever 33. The drive pawl 30is pivotally mounted between the forked end of the tensioning lever 33adjacent to the ratchet wheel. The nose prole of the drive pawl 30 issuch that two straight faces of the tooth meet substantially at rightangles and engage with complementary profiles in the ratchet wheel 29.The nose 31 of the pawl 30 is held against the teeth of the ratchetwheel 29 during the tensioning by a plunger 78 and compression spring 32which are housed with the tubular tensioning lever 33, a tensionadjustment screw 34 being provided in the end of the tensioning lever33. The loading of the spring 33 determines the maximum tension in theband 19.

A holding pawl and ratchet mechanism 37 is provided to prevent reverserotation of the axle 24 during the tensioning operation and comprises aratchet wheel 38, which is mounted on the axle between the side members23, and a holding pawl 39, which is pivotally mounted between thesidemembers 23 above the ratchet wheel 38 and is operative to engagetherewith (FIGS. l and 5). The prole of the engaging parts of theholding pawl and ratchet device 37 is essentially different from that ofthe drive pawl and ratchet device, the teeth on the ratchet wheel 38being raked towards the reverse direction of rotation and the pawl 39having a complementary hooked nose portion.

The tensioning lever 33 is normally urged towards a rest position by atorsion spring 36, as shown in FIG. 6, where the tail of pawl 30 engagesa stop 35 and the nose 31 of the pawl is prevented from engaging theteeth of the ratchet wheel 29. The holding pawl 39 is also provided witha laterally extending toe portion 40 which abuts an adjacent cuttingdevice 41 and a raised portion 46. The cutting device comprises amovable cutter 42 rotatably held to the base structure adjacent to oneend of the cutter 42 by a screw 43, disposed transversely of thedirection of the band over the base and positioned above a iixed cutter44 (FIGS. 1, 3 and 5 The movable cutter 42 is urged away from the xedcutter 44 and into contact with the toe portion 40 by a spring 45. Theraised portion 46 operates the cutting device 41 in a manner to bedescribed.

Rotatably mounted on the axle 24 and adjacent to th outside faces of thesidemembers 23 are a pair of spaced parallel arms 47 which carry thesealing head 13. The sealing head 13 comprises two separate housingswhich accommodate and support the sealing means. The housings are boltedtogether during assembly of the parts. A rst housing 48 which is nearestthe handle 11 and to which the arms 47 are attached has bell shapedsidewalls and houses the sealing means the means comprising a togglemechanism 49 generally indicated in FIGS. 7 and 8 and a rack and pinionmechanism 50 (FIGS. 1 and 8), operatively connected to the togglemechanism 49 and to a hand lever 51. The arrangement is such thatmovement of the hand lever 51 in the direction of the arrow shown inFIG. l will cause the pinion S2 of the mechanism 50 to rotate in aclockwise direction and cause the rack 53 to move downwardly in a bore54 within the housing 48. Movement of the hand lever 51 inthe oppositedirection raises the rack 53. Upward movement of the. rack 53 is limitedby the abutment of an external shoulder on the rack with an internalshoulder in the bore 54. The toggle mechanism 49 carries two pairs ofmovable jaws 55 which are disposed between T shaped guide members 56(FIGS. 7 and 8). The members 56 are provided with a rectangular slot 57which has a divergent mouth opening into the lower edge of the members56, the edge protruding below the jaws 55. The jaw assembly is linked bypins 58 and the members 56 have limited vertical movement within theassembly. The housing 48 also provides a mounting for a spring biasedplunger 59 (FIG. l) which has a projection 60 at its lower end and itis-this projection which contacts the raised portion 46 to actuate thecutter 42 and also release the second pawl 39 from the ratchet wheel 38(FIGS. 1 and 5) as the sealing head 13 is hinged away from the base 10.The cutter spring 45 is considerably stronger than the spring biasingthe plunger 59 and this feature together with the scope of theformations of the raised portion 46 and projection 60 which co-operatein each direction ensures that no actuation of the cutter takes placewhen the sealing head is moved towards the base 101. Adjacent to the rsthousing 48 and bolted thereto by means of four bolts 62 there is asecond housing 61 which accommodates a stack of sealing clips 63. Theclips 63 are spring urged towards the bottom of the housing 61 throughwhich they can be ejected individually to a position within the slots 57of the guide members 56. That part of the base 11 which is disposedbetween the cutting device 41 and the gripping device 14 constitutes thesealing station 65 and this part of the base is provided with tworectangular apertures 66 and 67. These apertures are coincident with thehousings 48 and 61 respectively when the sealing head 13 is in theclosed position. In this position the bottom parts of the housings 48and 61 will seat in the recess 68 in the upper part of the base 10.

A pair of outwardly protruding lugs 69 on the end wall of the secondhousing 61 carry a spindle 71 horizontally and transversely disposed onthe end wall at a point nearer the top than the bottom. On this spindlea cranked clip feed lever 70 is pivotally mounted. The upper arm of thelever 70 carries a roller 76 on its end part and is offset to one sideof the housing 61 and aligned with a cam 72 attached to the sealinglever 51. The lower arm of the clip feed lever 70 is formed with a pairof spaced lugs 73 which carry a shackle pin 74 on which a sealing clippusher 75 is mounted (FIGS. 2, 4 and 8). The pusher 75 is spring urgedtowards the base 10. The

arrangement of the levers 51 and 70 is such that movement of the lever51 in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 1 causes the cam 72 tocontact the roller 76 forcing the lever 70 to pivot away from thehousing 61 as shown in FIG. 4.

In operation the tool is loaded in the position shown in FIG. 1 with astack of seal clips 63 through an aperture in the top of the secondhousing 61. The tool is placed on the package to be banded. In theposition of the hand lever 51 as shown in FIG. 1 the rack 53 is at theuppermost limit of its travel so that backward movement of the handlever 511 in the direction opposite to the arrow in FIG. 1 causes thesealing head 13 to pivot rearwards about the axle 24 to the raisedposition shown in FIG. 3. In this condition the tool is ready for use.The free end of the band 19 is inserted into the slot 17 beneath the at18 so that the extremity enters the channel portion 20 and the bightportion is folded over the spindle 15 and onto the top of the base 10.The free end of the band 19 is trapped against an edge 77 within theslot 17 when the tape 19 is pulled establishing a frictional drivingconnection with the spindle 15 to turn the spindle 15 in ananti-clockwise direction against the action of the spring 21. The band19 is then passed below the fixed cutter 44, around the package and backagain above the fixed cutter in an overlapping relationship with thefirst end of the tape. It is then inserted into one of the four slots 26of the capstan where it is held by the leaf spring 27 of that slotagainst the inner wall of the slot. The tape is now tensioned around thepackage by an oscillatory movement of the tensioning lever 33 whichcauses the capstan to turn forwards on each driving stroke and applytension incrementally to the band 19. During the tensioning operation,on forward strokes of the lever 51 the operator must overcome the forceof the torsion spring 36 and as the lever is pushed forwards the drivepawl 30 is released from the stop 35 and the nose 31 is held against theratchet wheel 29 by the compression spring 32. Reverse rotation of thecapstan is prevented by the engagement of the pawl and ratchet mechanism37 and the pawl 30 overrides the teeth of the ratchet 29 on the returnstroke of the lever 51. When the resistance of the capstan reaches thepoint where the nose 31 of the pawl 3G overrides the teeth of theratchet on the driving stroke, the operator is aware that the requiredtension in the band 19 has been reached. The lever 33 is now allowed toreturn to the disengaged position by action of the torsion spring 36, asshown in FIG. 6. The tail of the pawl resting against the stoppreventing the nose 31 from engaging the teeth of the ratchet wheel 29so that the tensioning lever 33 is disconnected from the capstan. Thetension in the banding tape 19 is now held by the pawl 39.

The sealing head 13 is then lowered onto the base 10 over the tensionedband 19 so that the overlapping part of the band enters the mouth of theslot 57 in the edge of the guide members 56. It is intended that theoperator should move the sealing head 13 from the FIG. 3 to the FIG. lposition by means of the hand lever 51 although it could be movedwithout the aid of the lever 51. However, since the force required toovercome the strength of the torsion spring in the clip feed mechanismwhen the cam 72 meets the roller 76 is much greater than the forceneeded to pivot the sealing head 13 on its axle 24, closure of the jawswould not occur when the head 13 is hinged towards the base with the aidof the lever 51.

When the sealing head 13` is firmly on the base the sealing lever 51 ismoved forwardly to the position shown in FIG. 4. In consequence thepinion 52 is rotated and the toggle mechanism 49 descends in its housing48 to effect closure of the crimping jaws 55 over the overlappingportions of the band at the sealing station 65. Thus the band 19 issealed as shown in FIG. 9. Forward movement of the sealing lever 51 alsocauses simultaneous movement of the clip feed lever 70k which is raisedas shown in FIG. 4. Backward movement of the lever 51 towards theposition shown in FIG. 1 again raises the rack 53 to the upper limit ofits travel and also allows the clip pusher 75 to feed a new clip 63 intoposition in the slots of the guide members 56. Further backward movementof the lever 51 pivots the sealing head 13 about the axle 24 and bringsthe projection 60 on the plunger 59 into contact with the raised portion46 on the pawl 39 of the second pawl and ratchet device 37 and furtherbackward movement causes the toe portion 40` of the pawl 30 to movedownwardly and so release the nose of the pawl 39 from the ratchet wheel38. As the drive pawl 30 of the first pawl and ratchet device 28- isalso in its disengaged position the tension is released in that part ofthe banding tape 19 which is between the seal and the tensioningmechanism. The toe 40 of the pawl 39 also bears on the movable cutter42. After the tension has been released the movable cutter 42 closeswith the fixed cutter 44 and severs the upper portion of the overlappingband 19 which is between the seal and the tensioning mechanism 12.

After severing the band 19 from the supply the tool is removed from thetensioned and sealed strap by sliding it diagonally away from the sealedjoint in the direction of the handle 11. Since the gripping device 14 isbiased to the open position the end of the tape 19' will release itselfautomatically.

On a portable tool resting on a package downward movement of a leverfrom a vertical to a horizontal position, that is through about is asmuch as can be provided if any appreciable force is to be exerted. Itwill be appreciated that the invention enables the whole of thismovement to be used for crimping, by contrast with conventional tools inwhich the last part of the movement of the sealing lever is needed tooperate the severing means. In a tool according to the invention aneater mechanical advantage can therefore be provided for crimping theSeals enabling them to be crimped more tightly or alternatively lessforce to be used by the operator.

The invention also enables simple movement of a single lever to be usedboth to close the head onto the base and crimp the seals and again openthe sealing mechanism and raise the head from the base. Thus a naturalfollow through of these movements is possible.

We claim:

1. A tool for banding packages, parcels or the like comprising incombination a base, a sealing station on the base and disposedintermediate the ends thereof, sealing means mounted on the baseadjacent to the sealing station and hingeably away from the base,gripper means mounted on the base to one side of the sealing station togrip the free end of a band from a supply, tensioning means mounted onthe base on the other side of the sealing station to tension the bandafter it has been passed around a package or the like such that there isan overlapping part adjacent to the sealing station, tension releasemeans to release the tension in the strap after scaling, and severingmeans to sever the band from the supply, the tension release means andthe severing means being actuated in succession by movement of thesealing means as it is hinged away from the base, after completion ofthe operation of the sealing means.

2. A banding tool according to claim 1 in which the sealing means isprovided with a hand lever movable With respect to the sealing means inone direction for closing a seal about said overlapping part of the bandand in the opposite direction for releasing the seal from the sealingmeans, and the hand lever is also effective to move the sealing meanstowards and away from the base by movement of the hand lever in the samedirection and respectively preceding and following the seal closing andreleasing movements of the hand lever.

3. A banding tool as claimed in claim 1 in which the tensioning meansincludes a holding pawl engageable with a ratchet so as normally toprevent movement of the ratchet in the direction for releasing tensionand the t'ension release means comprises an abutment on the sealingmeans which engages the holding pawl on movement of the sealing meansaway from the base and serves to release the holding pawl from itsengagement with the ratchet.

4. A banding tool as claimed in claim 3 in which the abutment is aspring biased detent which yields on engagement with the holding pawlduring movement of the sealing towards the base but, on engagement withthe holding pawl during movement of the sealing means away from thebase, resists displacement in order to disengage the holding pawl fromits associated ratchet.

5. A banding tool as claimed in claim 3 in which the severing means isactuated by the tension release means.

6. A banding tool as claimed in claim 3 in which the holding pawl ispivoted with respect to the base and includes a toe portion extendingaway from the pivot and a raised portion disposed between the toeportion and the pivot, the toe portion being so constructed and arrangedas to actuate the severing means after disengagement of the holding pawlfrom the ratchet and the raised portion being the part of the holdingpawl to be engaged by the abutment.

7. A banding tool as claimed in claim 6 in which the severing meansincludes a cutter pivotally mounted with respect to the base adjacent toone end of the cutter and disposed transversely of the direction of theband over the base in a position such that part of the cutter spacedfrom the pivot lies within the locus of the toe portion and in which thecutter is biased by spring means so as to be urged against the toeportion and consequently that end of the holding pawl which is remotefrom the toe portion is urged into contact with its associated ratchet.

8. A banding tool as claimed in claim 7 in which the abutment is aspring biased detent which yields on engagement with the holding pawlduring movement of the sealing towards the base but, on engagement withthe holding pawl during movement of the sealing means away from thebase, resists displacement in order to disengage the holding pawl fromits associated ratchet and in which the force due to the spring meansurging the cutter into contact with the toe portion, the force due tothe spring lbiasing the detent and the profile of the raised portion andthat part of the detent which contacts the raised portion are so relatedthat when the sealing means is moved towards the base no actuation ofthe severing means or tension release means occurs.

9. A banding tool as claimed in claim 1 in which the gripper means isbiased to the open position and in use the free end of the band isinserted into the gripper in that position and the act of applyingtension to the band establishes a driving connection between the bandand the gripper so that the gripper moves to a positive lockingposition,v the band being released automatically from the gripper whenthe tool is removed from the package.

10. A banding tool as claimed in claim 1 in which the tensioning meansincludes a manually-operable tensioning lever coupled by a drive pawland associated ratchet to a capstan in which the band is held duringtensioning and which is uni-directionally rotated upon actuation of thetensioning lever and in which the capstan is carried at one end of anaxle journalled in the base and comprises at least onelongitudinally-directed, open-ended slot which serves together withspring means associated with the slot to hold the band prior to thetensioning operation.

11. A banding tool as claimed in claim 10 in which the spring meanscomprises a leaf Spring secured to the capstan and having a free portionextending obliquely across the slot and urged towards one side thereof.

12. A banding tool according to claim 1 in which the tensioning meansincludes a manually-operable tensioning lever coupled by a drive pawland associated ratchet to a capstan in which the band is held duringtensioning and which is uni-directionally rotated upon actuation of thetensioning lever and in which the drive pawl is urged by spring forceinto engagement with or towards the ratchet, and wherein the noseprofile of the pawl and the spring force together predetermine thetension of the band in operation of the tool.

13. A banding tool as claimed in claim 12 in which adjustment of thespring force is provided and hence the nal tension in the band can bevaried.

14. A banding tool as claimed in claim 1 in which the tensioning meansincludes a manually-operable tensioning lever coupled by a drive pawland associated ratchet to a capstan in which the band is held duringtensioning and which is uni-directionally rotated upon actuation of thetensioning lever and in which the tensioning lever is spring biasedtowards a rest position and means are provided for withdrawing the drivepawl from the ratchet when the tensioning lever is in the rest position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS LOWELL A. LARSON, PrimaryExaminer

